(I think DCW is
correct – Any confirmation – Derek was a stickler for accuracy and a good
friend. He was editor of PROFILE – the Boscombe Down Safety Magazine Editor for
a several years in the 1990s and actually got me to write several articles for
him on Assisted Aircrew escape Systems History. I was never on time, always too
wordy – he was a brilliant individual – ever patient with this “civilian writer”
– he is sadly missed)

14 JULY 1954

VICTOR B.1(P)

WB771

Sqn Ldr R. N.
Ecclestone DFC AFC (Graduate No.8 Course; Test

Pilot), Mr E. N.
K. Bennett (Flight Test Observer), Mr B.Heithersay

(Flight Test
Observer) and Mr A. B. Cook (Flight Test Observer),

Handley Page, Radlett. Position error calibration flight involving level runs at
100ft over Cranfield airfield at increasing speeds. After numerous runs over the
airfield, induced tail flutter caused cracking of the bolt holes in the fin.
These allowed the three bolts securing the tailplane to loosen and shear in
quick succession, the complete tailplane and elevators broke away from the
aircraft. The remainder of the aircraft dived into the ground at full power,
striking exactly at the intersection of the two Cranfield runways. (refs 6, 14,
20, 62, 74, 75, 93 & 207). 4 killed. Cat 5.

Just spotted
your website and would like to confirm thatColin
Cummingsdateis
correct. My brother Ron Taffy Ecclestone was killed on 14th
July 1954 when the tail ofHP VictorWB771 fell off as described. I must add thatour family have always been proud of the fact thatunlike his fellow crew members
Ronhad an ejector seat and could havechosen to save himself.

Best wishes

G K Eccleston
[ex radar erk]

Loss of the Victor

O

N Wednesday, July
14th, the first prototype Handley Page

Victor, WB 771, was completely destroyed at Cranfield,

Beds. The aircraft was carrying out position-error trials, and
had

made numerous runs at about 100ft altitude (the "sea-level"
case)

each at a higher airspeed than the one previous. At about 1 p.m.

the bomber was approaching the airfield at |tf s height when it

was seen to be behaving erratically. Eye-wisSesses stated it
made

a sudden dive and then levelled out agajtiff and that at this
stage

the whole horizontal tail assembly wCs fluttering badly. The

complete tailplane and elevators thejrbroke away and rose above

the flight-path, while the remainder of the aircraft went
straight

into the ground at full powerwrffriking exactly at the
intersection

of two runways.

Disintegration was cqifiplete, and appears to have been

accompanied by fire, although the spread of the wreckage
obviated

any conflagration in

jtie. normal sense of the word. The
horizontal

tail surfacey 'came to rest on the airfield; they were

substantially intact^and may therefore yield valuable evidence.

None of the

Jtrew of four escaped. The aircraft was being

flown by the,.company's deputy chief test pilot, F/L. R. V.

Ecclestone, Ef.F.C, A.F.C. Thirty-one years of age, he flew

Stirlings and Lancasters in Bomber Command, and also Hurricanes

and Spitfires in the Bomber Defence Tactical Unit. Later

he was engaged in development flying, successively at Marham,

Boscombe Down and Farnborough; he had completed the Empire

22 July 1954 99

Test Pilots School course and had served for a year in the
Directorate

of Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry. He had

joined Handley Page, Ltd., less than three months before the

accident. .. -

Also on board were Mr. E. N. Kenneth Bennett, 29, the company's

chief flight observer (he joined them in 1946); and two

other H.P. observers, Mr. Bruce Heithersay, 28 (ex-R.A.A.F.),

and Mr. A. B. Cook, 24 (formerly wMi Aero Research, Ltd., and

Glosters). ,•"

On learning of the accidenj/'Mr. Duncan Sandys, Minister of

Supply, sent telegrams of ytfhdolence to Sir Frederick Handley

page and to the next-of7irin of the crew. Mr. Sandys also made

a brief statement on (be crash in reply to a Commons Question

on Monday last,

y"'

_ljhe Victor firs^flew on Christmas Eve 1952. During the early

part of this yearit was returned to Radlett for extensive
modification.

Mr P.Murphy (Test
Pilot, Handley Page Aircraft), Flt Lt J Waterton (Graduate No. 19 Course), Mr
M.P.Evans (Navigator) and Mr P Elwood (Flight Test Observer, Handley Page). `B'
Sqn, A&AEE, flown from Radlett. Flight trial into the low speed handling
characteristics with recently fitted production fixed droop leading edges that
replaced the conventional nose flaps. During an approach to the stall at
16,OOOft in the landing configuration the aircraft was mishandled and entered a
stable stall followed by a flat spin from which the crew were unable to recover,
the aircraft sinking at a rate of about 6,OOOft/min. Both pilots ejected safely,
the co‑pilot at 1,OOOft and the captain at 400­500ft. One rear crew (Mr J.Tank
AEO) abandoned the aircraft successfully, the other two‑rear crew remained with
the aircraft. The aircraft, descending almost vertically, crashed onto a
farmhouse at Stubton (Lincolnshire), near Newark‑on‑Trent, killing two residents
and injuring two more (Mr and Mrs D.Burtt). (refs 2, 20, 28, 77 & 207). Pilots
injured. 2 crew killed (Evans and Ellwood). 2 non‑occupant civilians killed (Mrs
A.Gibson and Miss C.P.Gibson). Cat 5.

4th June 1962

RAF

Victor B.1A

XH613

15 Sqdn,
Cottesmore

all four engines failed at 2,000ft

Pilot ejected OK

Martin-Baker

Co-Pilot ejected OK

Martin-Baker

all 3 rear crew "bailed out"

FEEDBACK

Hi

I refer to the reason for the loss of Victor B1A
XH613 on the 4th of June 1962.

The reason that all four engines lost power was
because an electrical socket, part of the fuel control system, became
detached from the back of the central sliding fuel panel. I think it was
called the AT Panel.

It was a great surprise to all, that all four
engine fuel controls were routed through the one socket. Even Radlett
couldn't believe it. The socket of course should have been wire locked. I
cannot remember now whether it had been, and the wire had broken, or if
indeed it had been removed at some point and the wire not replaced and
locked.

I refer too to Victor XA 929 lost on the 16th
of the same month. It was said at the time that the air was insufficiently
dense for the aircraft to get enough lift .The temperature at the time being
very hot. Bearing in mind it was a lone ranger on a full fuel load. The
pilot realised he wasn't going to make it, and abandoned take off. The rest
is history. I remember the great weight of sadness that hung over Cottesmore
at the time.

Hope the above helps to keep the info as
accurate as possible.

At that time I was an aircraft electrician on 10
Squadron

David M T Ketleyin email 31st January 2008

16th June 1962

RAF

Victor

XA929

Crashed on take off at Akrotiri

2nd October 1962

RAF

Victor

XA934

2nd October 1962

RAF

Victor B1

XA934

232 OCURAF Gaydon

Engine failure 3 miles south west of RAF Gaydon

Pilot
Captain Flight Lieutenant Noel Edward COOKE
killed

Flt. Lt. B. C. Gwinnell (co-pilot)

Martin-Baker

Pilot
Officer John Anthony COTTRIDGE
killed

Flying
Officer Douglas Frank HAYNES
killed

FEEDBACK

Hi , I did the pre-flight
checks on XA 934 on the morning shift at R.A.F. Gaydon on October the
2nd 1962.During the night shift it crashed. Flt Lt. Gwinnel had ejected
[his seat had been serviced by Junior Technician Philip [Sam] Weller.
The aircraft was in a tail down attitude while entering a small copse.
Gwinnel ejected and hit the ground still in the seat. He was badly
injured but eventually returned to flying. The first pilot , Flt Lt.
Noel Edward Cooke [Captain Cooke to us "erks"] fired his seat , but
during the time delay for the canopy to be jettisoned , the aircraft
exploded.

All the best .ex Leading
Aircraftman
"Shingles" McVey
[in email 5th November 2007]

Major compression fracture of vertebrae and incomplete fracture of left ankle.
Co-pilot: Martin-Baker 3L2 Mk2. Unable to reach handles. Rear crew unable to
escape from cabin
due to high negative "G" forces. Beyond vertical nose down attitude. resulting in
loss of control.

FEEDBACK

XH 618 Mid-air
collision 24th March 1975

I was a Crew Chief on 543 Sqd
delivering Victor B2SR XH674 to RAF Marham on that fateful day. Having
previously spent four years an 55 Sqd as a Crew Chief I have some idea about
flight refuelling procedures. It was sop when, having missed the refuelling
probe for the receiver to throttle back and 'reverse' down the line of
flight of the approach. It would appear that the young, and relatively
inexperienced, pilot of the Buccaneer continued up the approach line to the
probe and got well ahead of the tanker. On throttling back his aircraft, by
this time in front of and above the tanker, descended into the path of the
tanker and damaged the tail plane, which broke off. It was a very tense and
sad day to be at Marham on that day.

To improve the comfort of
pilots, who often sit for up to nine hours firmly strapped into their
ejection seats, I believe that sheep skin pads had been fitted as covers to
their dinghies, a justified modification. This mod. made the dinghy a couple
of inches thicker, I understand that the Co. Pilot, who was quite short, had
previously brought to the attention of the safety equipers that he was
having some difficulty reaching the ejection seat pan handle. This paragraph
is hearsay and should not be considered as fact, but, it fits in with the
scenario.

lost over Irish Sea after pitot probe detached and leading edge slats auto
deployed

28th September 1976

RAF

Victor

XL513

Take off abort, Marham

15th October 1982

RAF

Victor

XL232

Turbine disc failure leading to uncontrolled fire on take off roll, Marham

19th June 1986

RAF

Victor

XL191

Stalled on approach at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

RAF

Victor

15‑Mar‑93

RAF

Victor K2

XH671

55 Sqn RAF Marham

The main cabin
door and the surrounds were damaged beyond repair in a pressure test. The
aircraft was not repaired because the type was approaching the end of its
service life

--------------------------------------------

19 JUNE 1957

VICTOR B.1

XA919

Flt Lt G.H.Moreau
(Graduate No.l3 Course) and Flt Lt VMcNabney GM, `B' Sqn, A&AEE. Due to a
technical defect the aircraft landed at Wittering with the starboard wheel
brakes locked on. The front four tyres of the bogie were torn away, the rear
four tyres burst and the wheels were damaged. Debris from the tyres damaged the
starboard flaps, severed the electrical earth point in the undercarriage bay and
pierced the fuselage and the bomb bay. The aircraft was recovered successfully
to Boscombe Down with numerous electrical faults. Modifications subsequently
introduced. (refs 62 & 180). Nil casualties. Cat 4.

20 AUGUST 1959

VICTOR B.2 (P)

XH668

Sqn Ldr R.J.Morgan
(Graduate No. 16 Course) and Sqn Ldr G.B.Stockman (Graduate No. 15 Course), `B'
Sqn, A&AEE. Trials flight ‑ high speed manoeuvrability. A fatigue fracture
induced the loss of the starboard wingtip pitot head tube, which led to a low
speed input to the auto Mach trim actuator and the stall detector thus lowering
the elevators and extending the leading edge flaps. The aircraft progressed into
a high‑speed dive from 54,OOOft. Partial structural failure preceded impact with
the sea at Mach 0.855, off St Brides Bay, Wales. Unsuccessful ejection by the
captain just prior to impact. The analysis of the accident was only achieved
after a 14­month sea search, which ended on 19 November 1960, during which time
46 ships were involved, 11,069 deep‑sea trawls were made and 592,610 pieces of
wreckage recovered, amounting to 70 per cent of the aircraft. (refs 2, 16, 17,
28, 33 & 207). 5 missing, presumed killed (crew plus Flt Lt L.N.Williams, Flt Lt
R.J.Hannaford and Mr R.Williams (Handley Page)). Cat 5.

The aircraft broke
up whilst making calibration runs over the airfield. The cause of the loss was
failure of the tailplane. 'Taffy' Ecclestone was a graduate of the Empire Test
Pilots' School No 8 Course in 1949 and had recently joined Handley Page. He
accepted the task to fly the Victor on this sortie so that the senior test
pilot; Squadron Leader Hedley George Hazelden DFC & Bar, could carry out a
rescheduled demonstration of another aircraft to a foreign sales delegation.
Ecclestone had been awarded the Distnguished Flying Cross following a tour with
218 Sqn. Ian Bennett had been one of the two man crew (the other was Squadron
Leader Hazelden) who made the first flight in a Victor on 24 December 1952.

The aircraft was
on a test flight when it lost the starboard pressure head. This gave incorrect
airspeed readings and the aircraft was then allowed to dive and became out of
control before breaking up. A massive search was conducted to recover the
wreckage of this aircraft from the sea and to identify the cause of the loss.

Whilst approaching
RAF Cottesmore at the end of the sortie, all four engines ran down because the
electrical connectors became disconnected on the throttle box. The aircraft was
being flown by the squadron commander; Wg Cdr Matthews with Flying Officer
Lowther as his co‑pilot. On the order to abandon the aircraft, it is believed
that the rear crew left the aircraft in less than half a minute and,

although one man left the rubber of his flying boots along the fuselage, the
entire crew survived. It was particularly tragic, therefore, that a few days
later another Victor from the Cottesmore sister squadron should crash with the
loss of all on board. (Crew: Captain ‑ Wg Cdr J G Matthews, Co‑Pilot ‑ Fg Off W
B Lowther, Navigator Plotter ‑ Flt Lt G B Spencer, Navigator Radar ‑ Flt Lt B H
Stubbs, Air Electronics Operator ‑ Flt Lt E W Anstead). In June 1983, the author
joined Bill Lowther for a drink to celebrate his second 21st birthday!

16‑Jun‑62

XA929

Victor
B1

10
Sqn

RAF Akrotiri Cyprus

6

Incorrect flap
reading led to wrong selection on take off. By the time the pilot had realised
the possible T reason for the aircraft not becoming airborne it was too late to
avoid the crash. The co‑pilot ejected T shortly before the crash but his
ejection was outside the design limits of the seat and he did not survive.

Flight Lieutenant
George Alfred GOATHAM 27 Pilot Captain

Flight Lieutenant
David Cairns BROWN 28

Flight Lieutenant
John GRAY 36

Flying Officer
Anthony William MITCHELL 21 Co‑Pilot

Flying Officer
Albert Peter PACE 24

Master Technician
Donald Arthur SMITH 40 Crew Chief

02‑Oct‑62

XA934

Victor
B1

2320CU

3m South‑west RAF Gaydon

3

Engine failed on
take off and the aircraft was abandoned after two others failed

The aircraft, with
a crew of five and a Bomber Command 'umpire' took off in the early evening to
fly a bomber night exercise. The weather was good and the aircraft had only
recently been delivered new from the factory. After a normal take‑off and after
passing 800 feet, the co‑pilot noticed the No 2 engine fire warning light
illuminated. He told the captain that No 1 engine was on fire but the captain

contradicted him
with the correct engine details and instructed the co‑pilot to tell Air Traffic
Control and then told the rear crew members to check their parachutes. The
co‑pilot noticed that the undercarriage warning flag, which is activated if
speed drops below 160 knots and the undercarriage has not been lowered, was
flashing and he warned the captain to watch his speed. The captain replied that
he was climbing for height and despite the severe juddering believed that the
aircraft had sufficient speed because, it is thought, he believed he was at 100
knots higher speed than was the case. At around 5000 feet the aircraft flicked
over to port and fell away partly inverted. The captain ordered the crew to
abandon the aircraft and the rear crew members were unable to do so because of
the increasing 'G' forces as the aircraft spun down. The co‑pilot ejected and
was unharmed. It seems the only possible explanation for an experienced captain
losing control in this way was for him to have assumed he had the right speed
and that the juddering was not a stall but structural failure caused by the
engine fire.

Broke up in high
speed low level turn. The aircraft, the first SR2 to enter service with the
squadron, was being demonstrated to the Press. The evidence suggests that it was
overstressed in the turn and broke up over the old airfield at Warboys.

Squadron Leader
John Anthony HOLLAND Captain

Flying Officer
Harry WALSH Co‑Pilot

Flight Lieutenant
Royston Arthur NORMAN Navigator

Flight Lieutenant
Kenneth SMITH Air Electronics Officer

19‑Aug‑68

XH646

Victor

K1
A

214
Sqn

Kelling Heath Norfolk

4

Whilst flying in
extremely poor weather conditions which rendered the radar cover inadequate, the
Victor was in collision with a Canberra. The crews of both aircraft were killed.
Squadron Leader Doyle had assumed his responsibilities as a flight commander on
214 Squadron on the morning of his death.

Squadron Leader
Michael Thomas DOYLE Navigator

Flight Lieutenant
William Anthony GALLIENE Captain

Gallienne

Flight Lieutenant
Kenneth John PEACOCK Navigator

Flight Lieutenant
Roger Stanley MORTON Co‑Pilot

10‑May‑73

XL230

Victor
SRZ

543
Sqn

RAF Wyton

6

Loss of control
during unauthorised asymetric night approach and rolled over. It appears that
the pilot may have allowed the speed to decay too much and that he lost control
authority and was unable to prevent the aircraft rolling onto its back. As a
co‑pilot, Stevenson had been amongst a crew taking part in a transatlantic race
held in 1969 to mark the anniversary of the Alcock and Browne crossing.

Flight Lieutenant
Stuart Hawthorne STEVENSON Captain

Flight Lieutenant
John Weir PHILIPS 27 Co‑Pilot

Flight Lieutenant
Keith Robert QUINNEY 29 Navigator

Squadron Leader
John Philip MUSSON 38 Navigator (Flight Commander)

Flight Lieutenant
Richard John SWAIN 33 Navigator

Flight Lieutenant
John Henry GIBBS 42 Air Electronics Officer

24‑Mar‑75

XH618

Victor

KlA

57 Sqn

off Sunderland

4

Mid air collision
with Buccaneer XV156. The Victor was taking part in simulated refuelling when
the Buccaneer struck the tailplane rendering the Victor immediately
uncontrollable. It bunted over and the 'g' forces made it impossible for the
crew to escape; the captain, Flight Lieutenant Keith Handscomb managed to reach
the ejection handle with the fingers of one hand and although injured was
subsequently rescued by a merchant ship. The aircraft exploded as it reached the
cloud tops. The Buccaneer was undamaged and returned to base.

Flight Lieutenant
David Hallam CROWTHER

Flight Lieutenant
Peter Joseph Leo SLATTER

Flying Officer
Terence Patrick EVANS

Flying Officer
John Arthur PRICE

28‑Sep‑76

XL513

Victor
K2

55 Sqn

RAF Marham

0

Crashed into the
overshoot following birdstrike whilst taking off

15‑Oct‑82

XL232

Victor
K2

55 Sqn

RAF Marham

0

Engine explosion
and major fire when taking off. The aircraft was brought to a stop and quickly
evacuated by its crew and despite prompt attention from the fire crew, the
aircraft was engulfed by flames from its heavy fuel load and completely
destroyed

19‑Jun‑86

XL191

Victor
K2

55 Sqn

Hamilton Canada

0

Crashed into the
undershoot during approach to land. The detailed circumstances of this accident
are taught within the RAF flight safety training environment as an example of
how not to do things. In essence there was a breakdown in crew cooperation
which, when taken with other factors led to the loss of the aircraft

(I think DCW is
correct – Any confirmation – Derek was a stickler for accuracy and a good
friend. He was editor of PROFILE – the Boscombe Down Safety Magazine Editor for
a several years in the 1990s and actually got me to write several articles for
him on Assisted Aircrew escape Systems History. I was never on time, always too
wordy – he was a brilliant individual – ever patient with this “civilian writer”
– he is sadly missed)